Tag Archives: schedules

Pick of the Week: Self Management Planner, created by Daniel Sundberg, PhD

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Created by Daniel Sundberg, PhD, the Self Management Planner offers a better way to organize your life and check things off your to-do lists, utilizing the concepts and principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to help you to get more done!

The Self Management Planner is designed specifically for users who have busy and frequently changing schedules and want something that will do more than schedule time in the day. Not only is this planner perfect for effective time management and organizing your activities, but it also allows to set and track your goals (it even includes graph paper so you can watch your progress!).

This week, save 15% on the full-page Self Management Planner and the compact Self Management Planner and get a head start on keeping your New Year’s resolutions on track! Enter our promo code PLAN2016 at check-out to redeem your savings.

This is a perfect tool for those data collectors out there who are looking for an excellent organizational and record-keeping tool. The Self Management Planner includes:

  • Appointment book with full 18.5 hour days and 7 day weeks, to accommodate those who work on variable schedules
  • A tutorial on using the planner, appointment book, and measuring your success
  • A guide to setting long term goals, and figure out ways to accomplish those goals
  • A system for that allows you to select and track your daily activities. People have used this section to track a huge variety of important things like spending, hours billed, driving mileage, activity goals, and more.
  • Graphs to help you see and track progress on your goals
  • Lined note paper
  • Blank date periods that allow you to start the planner on your own schedule to prevent page waste
  • Weekly and daily to-do lists
  • Space to make note of all day events

Don’t forget to use our promo code PLAN2016 this week to take 15% off your order of the Self Management Planner, now available in two different sizes!

Tip of the Week: Using Differential Reinforcement of High Rates of Behavior to Increase Preferred Behaviors

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Differential Reinforcement of High Rates of Behavior (DRH) is “reinforcing only after several responses occur at or above a pre-established rate” (Mayer, Sulzer-Azaroff, & Wallace, 2013). There are times when a behavior is already in a student’s repertoire, but you may want to increase the rate of the behavior.

Mother Waking SonFor example, let’s say Harold frequently won’t get up independently on weekdays before school. It’s driving his parents crazy, because they have to drag him out of bed several days a week. You may set up a DRH to increase the rate of him getting up independently. Since Harold currently gets up independently at least one time per week, you would set the goal for two times per week. (You don’t want to set the goal too high, because then Harold might not ever come into contact with reinforcement, and his behavior will likely remain unchanged.) Let Harold know that if he gets up independently two days in a row, you will make his favorite breakfast on the second day. Once Harold has met this goal a few time, increase the requirement for reinforcement. You would move from two days in a row to three days in a row in order to receive his favorite breakfast.

You would continue this until you had reached a pre-arranged goal. It’s important to be realistic in our expectations. You don’t want to change the goal to quickly or make it unreachable. You also don’t want to place higher demands on an individual with disabilities than you do the general population (as discussed in our previous Simplifying the Science article). Many people, for instance, hit the snooze button several times before they actually get up, so it may not be necessary to require an individual with disabilities to wake up the very first time the alarm clock rings 100% of the time.

You may discover that your intervention with Harold is working quite well for a couple weeks, then suddenly stops working. You may need to backtrack a bit, and require fewer consecutive days of independently waking up. Or, you may need to vary the reinforcement. It’s possible that having his favorite breakfast has lost some of its power as a reinforcer.

Finally, after the behavior has reached your goal rate, you should begin to fade the reinforcement entirely. Of course, Harold should still have access to his favorite breakfast, but you should not continue to give it to him on the fifth consecutive day of waking up independently for years to come!

DRH is yet another variation of differential reinforcement that can be very useful for you. It’s also provides an opportunity for a much more positive interaction than introducing punishment to Harold for not waking up independently, and can decrease everyone’s stress levels at the beginning of the day.

References

Mayer, G. Roy, Sulzer-Azaroff-B. & Wallace, M. (2013). Behavior Analysis for Lasting Change-3rd ed. Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY: Sloan Publishing.

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.

Pick of the Week: NEW! SchKIDules Visual Schedules for Kids in the Home and Classroom

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Brand-new and just added, these SchKIDules Visual Schedules for Kids are a great and easy way to create visual schedules in the home and classroom. This week only, we’re offering 15% off* the SchKIDules Home Collection and the SchKIDules School Collection! Just use promo code SCHKIDULE when you place your order online or over the phone with us!

This 70-piece Home Collection depicts home essentials, chores, and outings, and is a great tool for easily creating visual schedules in the home. It helps manage communication, expectations, predictability, independence, improving memory, and more.

The Home Collection contains one 14″ x 12″ magnet board; 19 Headings magnets for structuring your schedule including: Days of the Week, Morning/Afternoon/Evening, Numbers 1 to 5, To Do/Done, and First/Then.

Seventy 2″ x 2″ magnets display daily activities such as:

  • bike riding
  • dentist
  • playground
  • music
  • out to eat
  • party
  • shopping
  • play date
    and so many more.

The School Collection contains 30 pieces that depict typical school day activities to support the easy creation of a visual schedule for the day. The School Collection contains one 14″ x 12″ magnet board; 19 Headings magnets for structuring your schedule including: Days of the Week; Numbers 1 to 5; To Do/Done; First/Then; and Morning/Afternoon/Evening. Thirty 2″ x 2″ magnets depict school activities and objects such as:

  • assembly
  • calendar
  • centers
  • circle time
  • dismissal
  • field trip
  • line up
  • math
  • story time
  • science
  • group work
    … and more!

Don’t forget to use our promo code SCHKIDULE to save 15%* on either or both of the SchKIDule Home Collection and the SchKIDule School Collection this week only!

Tips on Effective Self-Management with ABA Techniques by Daniel Sundberg

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Most of us at some point or another have struggled with time management. Whether it is finding more time to spend with your children, or just finding the time to exercise, time management can be a major challenge. But the benefits are potentially huge. When I first started graduate school I had trouble scheduling classes, work, research, exercise, and social activities. Fortunately, I was introduced to some effective techniques, derived from the principles of applied behavior analysis, designed to help people systematically manage their own behavior, known as self-management (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). The self-management process at its core is about taking data on your own behavior and setting up systems to manage your own performance. Individuals have used self-management to address a wide variety of challenges, from reducing smoking and managing spending, to better utilizing their billable hours and managing medication use. Additionally, self-management techniques have been used by individuals with a wide range of developmental and cognitive abilities (Cooper et al., 2007), and have been shown to be effective in increasing an array of positive behavioral skills in individuals with autism (Lee, Simpson, & Shogren, 2007).

While I find a specific tool like the Self Management Planner useful in coordinating my own efforts at self-management, the components of a good self-management program can be incorporated into many different types of tools or systems. These components are very similar to those that you may see in effective applied behavior analysis or performance management programs (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968; Daniels & Bailey, 2014). At its most basic level this process involves specifically identifying important goals and related behaviors, measuring progress, determining how to affect those behaviors and reach your goals, and evaluating and modifying your program as necessary (Cooper et al., 2007). While Cooper et al. (2007) present a wide range of self-management tactics, here are a few specific suggestions for making your self-management program more effective:

  • Define your goals and the related behaviors. Creating a goal is a very important part of this process, as specific goals have been repeatedly shown to be more effective than vague goals (Locke & Latham, 2013). By identifying what you ultimately want to accomplish in the future it becomes much easier to identify things you can do today to get you there. Here are some specific tips for setting your goals:
    • Set a long term goal in terms of an accomplishment, not an activity (e.g. “save $5,000 for a vacation” rather than “spend less money”).
    • Make these long-term goal challenging yet attainable.
    • Set many short term goals, and direct these towards behaviors and results.
    • Make these short-term goals realistic – err on the side of making them too easy.
    • Make both short-term and long-term goals as specific as you possibly can.
    • Use your short-term and long-term goals to identify day to day behaviors that will allow you to reach your goal.
    • When you are selecting the goals that you want to focus on, pick only a few at any given time. It is reasonable to focus on around 4-6 goals at a time, too many and it becomes easy to lose focus – if everything’s a priority, nothing’s a priority.
  • Identify measures. Tracking and measuring your progress is critical, and a large part of that involves clearly defining how you will measure the goals and behaviors you identified. For example, if you want to reach a set of parent training goals will you measure it in time spent working on that goal, milestones accomplished, appraisal from a clinical supervisor, or some other means? The more objective and countable, the better.
  • Change the behavior of interest. There are a number of ways to try and change your behavior. Often times, simply measuring behavior can produce change. If that is not enough, enlist the help of a friend to help you set and track your goals, keep you accountable, and deliver consequences. You can use Facebook or some other social media tool to make a public commitment and regularly post on how you are progressing. Paid programs such as Stickk can help you to track and measure your progress towards a goal. It is also possible to rearrange your environment in a way that makes the desired behavior more likely, B.F. Skinner wrote extensively on this in this in Enjoy Old Age: A Program of Self-Management (Skinner & Vaughan, 1983).
  • Track and measure. Record data on your progress every day, or at least several times per week. Frequently tracking your performance will also serve as a regular source of feedback, which can by itself change behavior.
  • Evaluate and modify your program. Taking frequent data will also allow you to make much more informed decisions about the effectiveness of your program. When recording your data spend some time evaluating your self-management program. Determine whether the goals you have set are realistic, you have enough time in your week to accomplish what you want, your environment is set up to help or hinder your progress, etc. This step is a lot easier to do if you are frequently taking data. If you are not making the progress you want (or aren’t even able to track your progress!) that means something needs to change. Reflect on what has been done thus far and consider other changes you could make that will lead to greater success.

Here are a few other points that are not specifically part of the self-management process, but may help you in your efforts:

  • Before you go to bed, make a list of the things you need to do tomorrow. Keep that list next to your bed, so you can jot down a task you think of in bed, rather than fixating on it.
  • Consider whether there are tasks that you do better at different times in the day. For example, I find that I do my heavy mental activities best in the morning, and try not to schedule anything too mentally demanding during the post-lunch lull.
  • Honestly appraise how well you respond to prompts and lists. For some, having a to-do list can control a lot of behavior, for others it is not nearly so effective. If you find that you don’t respond well to to-do lists, no amount of listing and planning is going to change your behavior. You may find that you need to recruit a friend to help in your program.
  • Schedule in some breaks. Most of us cannot tackle tasks back to back to back all day at the energy level needed. Even if it is 10 or 15 minutes, plan in some time during the day to take a quick break. You may find that this has the effect of making your time on task much more effective.
  • Avoid multi-tasking with important activities at all costs. The act of shifting your focus from one activity to another can take up more time than you expect, and eliminate any perceived efficiency from doing two things at once.

Self-management is no easy task, but the benefits can make the effort well worth it, not just for you, but for those you work with as well.

WRITTEN BY DANIEL SUNDBERG

Daniel Sundberg is the founder of Self Management Solutions, an organization that operates on the idea of helping people better manage their time. Towards this end, he created the Self Management Planner, which is based on an earlier edition created by Mark Sundberg in the 1970s. Daniel is currently a PhD candidate and continues his work helping individuals and organizations better themselves.

Guest Article: Tips on Encouraging Picky Eaters

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This week, we’re thrilled to share some exclusive tips from Julia Singer Katz at the Kutest Kids Early Intervention Center on how to deal with picky eaters, from using colors and schedules to modeling good habits.

Don’t let picky eating ruin meal time or divide your family at the dinner table. Encouraging healthy eating habits with a stubborn child requires patience with a firm touch. Here at Kutest Kids Early Intervention Center, our therapists are all too familiar with this phenomenon and would like share some common tips. Begin by setting the stage for healthy choices, thereby helping your child overcome their picky habits with a few key strategies.

Start With a Schedule.  Hungry kids are often less picky than those that have been snacking on junk foods all day. Scheduling snack time – and sticking to it – ensures your kids are hungry when a healthy meal is served. Don’t just schedule snacks, though. Having breakfast, lunch and dinner at regular times further encourages kids to eat only when the food is available.

Skip the Junk.  A pantry or fridge full of unhealthy options further encourages picky eating. What kid is going to fill up on broccoli when they know there are ice cream and chips just a few steps away? If the only options are healthy options, a hungry child is more likely to choose those with few complaints. Keep the healthy snacks accessible – cut up carrot and veggie sticks and keep raw fruit washed and cubed for easy serving.

Add Some Healthy Elements.  Even the most adventurous eater may turn up their nose to a completely unfamiliar food. Instead of making a full change out of the gate, begin by introducing healthier elements to their favorite dishes. Try oven-baked chicken fingers with a whole-meal coating instead of processed and fried nuggets. Mix in some shredded zucchini with their macaroni and cheese. Add fruit to a no-sugar cereal. Small changes can win over a picky eater.

Eat the Colors.  Most kids respond well to games and challenges. Brightly colored foods, such as vegetables and fruits are healthier than most dull and bland-colored foods. Make a game out of eating as many colors in a day as possible! This may encourage an otherwise picky eater to eat more vegetables and to try new foods.

Loosen Up the Rules.  A strict clean-your-plate rule does more harm than good. In the end, it just encourages over-eating while also making the dinner table a place of stress and tears. Allow your kids to decide when they are full. If they want a snack later, it’s not an issue if you have a scheduled after-dinner snack time, and they only have access to healthy snacks.

Model Good Eating Habits.  Often, picky eating is a learned behavior. Only serve foods that you will eat, and don’t complain about any food within the child’s hearing. Have meals at the table, and never encourage mindless snacking while watching television.

Many kids naturally go through phases of picky eating. Keeping unhealthy food to a minimum and only serving it as an occasional treat will help your family weather these finicky moments.

WRITTEN BY JULIA SINGER KATZ, MSS, LSW

Julia Singer Katz MSS, LSW is the Supervisor of Clinical Program Development at the Kutest Kids Early Intervention Agency, an all-inclusive therapy center in Philadelphia. She’s very passionate about helping each child reach his or her fullest potential and making a difference in the community.

Pick of the Week: EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule Plus Add-On Kits—Get off on the right start for school!

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Help your child structure their daily routines to get off on the right start for school with the EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule. Teach independence, responsibility, self-discipline, and sight-word recognition with this handy magnetic chart.

And you can save 15%* on your order of the EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule, along with its three add-on kits: Chores & Special Times, Family & Extracurricular Activities, and Get Dressed & Bathroom Routines, when you enter promo code EASYDAYS at check-out online.

The EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule comes with 18 magnets covering everyday activities such as “get dressed,” “do homework,” and “bath time.” You can also use the “To Do” and “Done” columns as a reward system.

The add-on kits offer an easy way to schedule daily chores, routines, and events, and helps to keep track of a child’s earned special times.

 

Chores & Special Times Add-On Kit comes with 21 amazing and durable illustrated magnets: Book/Quiet Time, Clean Bathroom, Clean Bedroom, Computer Time, Dishes, Feed Pet, Field Trip, Garbage/Recycling, Help Set Table, Put Clothes Away, Sweep/Vacuum, TV Time, Walk Dog, 2 blank magnets, and 6 blank clock magnets.

 

Family & Extracurricular Activites Add-On Kit comes with 18 durable illustrated magnets: Dance, Dentist, Doctor, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Movie Night, Music, Party, Play Date, Play Outside, Shopping, Skating/Hockey, Soccer, Sports, Swimming, and 3 blank magnets.

 

 

Get Dressed & Bathroom Routines Add-On Kit comes with 18 helpful, prompting magnetic components, such as: Coat, Comb Hair, Dress/Skirt, Dry Hands, Flush, Lights Off, Pants, Pull Down Pants, Pull Up Pants, Sit on Toilet, Shirt, Shoes, Sock/Stockings, Underwear, Wash Hands, Wipe, and 2 blank magnets.

 

Don’t forget to redeem your savings this week on the EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule and the supplemental packs for chores, family and extracurricular activities, and getting dressed and bathroom routines by entering our promo code EASYDAYS at check-out!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on September 2nd, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Tip of the Week: 5 Ways to Structure the Summer for Children with Autism

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As the school year comes to a close, it can be quite challenging to figure out how to fill all those summer hours for any child. But if your child has autism, the challenge to provide structure can prove especially difficult. Below are a few tips to assist you in that endeavor.

Create and communicate a new routine. Introducing a new routine can be valuable in easing the transition from full days at school to full days at home. You can set the new routine to be as flexible as necessary to meet the needs of the entire family. It may start very similarly to the school day routine: getting up, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, etc. You may then include specific times of the day for outdoor play, eating lunch, going with a babysitter, or playing on the computer. Think about the activities and toys that your learner enjoys the most and provide access to them as part of the routine. Providing visual cues such as activity schedules or to-do lists can also be beneficial.

Provide social opportunities whenever possible.  In the summer months, it’s quite possible that your learner will have much less interaction with peers. You can ask the school if there are any students who might be a good play date match for your learner. You can also look into day camps, summer sports activities, or board game nights. Think about what is highly motivating for your learner and consider possibilities for related activities that could involve peer interaction.

Look at potential camps.  There are many camps available for learners with special needs. If you’re unsure about camps in your area, ask the professionals who work with your child if they are aware of camps. You can also click here to see camps for children with autism.

Provide a summer calendar.  This calendar can be created based on your learner’s current skill level. For example, with some learners, you may just have pictures showing different activities (such as a picture of a nearby water park you’re visiting in July or a picture of your learner’s grandparents if they’re visiting one weekend). With other learners, you can have a written calendar, or even have them help create the summer calendar. Each day, the learner can refer to it and anticipate what activities and events are coming up.

Set one or two goals.  Summer may prove to be the perfect time to set goals around daily living skills that can be practiced without the rush of trying to meet the school bus. Chores such as making the bed or packing a school lunch can be taught with the goal of promoting independence and continuing those skills once the new school year begins.

Remember to consider what works best for your entire family as you plan for the summer. The goal is to create opportunities for a more relaxing home environment for everybody.

Pick of the Week: EasyDaysies Classroom Management Tools

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Say goodbye to spending valuable time making your own classroom organizers. These classroom magnets can easily be used on a whiteboard or in a pocket chart so that students can confidently understand their daily routines in the classroom. With clearly printed text and fun illustrations on each magnet, these classroom organizers will help reduce students’ anxiety while improving cooperation throughout the school day. This week only, you can save 15%* on your order of our newest EasyDaysies Classroom Management Tools for PreK through K and Grades 1 and Up. Just mention or apply our promo code EASYDAYS9 when you place your order with us over the phone or online.

Each set contains 18 magnets measuring 2.5 inches long.

The Kindergarten Kit includes Art, Centers, Circle Time, Clean Up,
Exercise, Exploration, Field Trip, Language, Library, Lunch, Music, Numbers,
Pack Bag, Play Outside, Snack Time, Wash Hands, and 2 blank magnets.

The First Grade Kit includes Art, Assembly, Clean Up, Field Trip, Gym,
Language, Library, Lunch, Math, Music, Science, Silent Reading,
Snack/Recess, Special Guest, Social Studies, and 3 blank magnets.

Don’t forget—this week only, save 15%* when you order the Pre-K/Kindergarten and/or the First Grade sets of EasyDaysies magnetic organizers when you use our code EASYDAYS9 at checkout!

*Offer expires at 11:59pm ET on April 29, 2014.  Not valid on past orders or with any other promotions and offers.  Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: Multipurpose Picture Schedule

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This week’s pick is the versatile Multipurpose Picture Schedule. All classrooms – especially those with young learners – incorporate various visual schedules to structure an activity or the day’s events. This communication board can be self-standing, used on a table top or hung on a wall. There are 2″ of loop-side fabric on both sides to make all sides usable. You can prearrange your symbols and store extras on the back to ease quick transitions. The board measures 4″ x 33″ when opened.  (*Note: the picture symbols are not included).

This week only, save 15% on the Multipurpose Picture Schedule by entering the Promo Code BLOGMPP7 at checkout.

*Offer expires on October 30, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Pick of the Week: NEW On-Task On-Time Timer

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Help your child gain independence with the brand new On-Task On-Time scheduler and timer. This is a unique time management system that organizes three important routines of the day during the Morning (getting ready for school), Afternoon (school to home transition), and Night (getting ready for bed). Just apply one of the 52 task stickers on the routine disk, insert the disk to the unit and the individualized schedule for your child is complete. Turn stressful transition times into structured, self-esteem building experiences. Each unit includes the timer, 3 routine disks, a set of boy and girl stickers, two markers, and a wall hanger.

This week only, save 15% on this great new scheduling tool – the On-Time On-Task Timer – by entering the Promo Code BLOGONTOT at checkout.

*Offer expires on October 10, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.